The highly anticipated Battle Royale mode of Black Desert Online was supposed to debut today. However, so many players flooded the servers that issues arose.
Update from 17.01.2019: The Shadow Arena is now open to all players. Changes have been made to improve stability for all players.
What happened? Pearl Abyss has temporarily locked all players out of the new Battle Royale mode Shadow Arena. Just a few hours after the mode was unlocked for all players.
The influx of players was apparently too much for the servers. Players reported repeated connection issues. There were graphical glitches, and many players were unable to try out the new mode as a result.
According to a community manager at Black Desert, the team is working on a solution to the problem so that the mode is available again as soon as possible.
In the Shadow Arena, everyone starts equally
What is the Shadow Arena? In the Shadow Arena, 50 players compete against each other on an ever-shrinking map. Each player initially controls a Black Spirit, with which they can possess one of the nine playable classes.
In the Early Access of the Shadow Arena, the classes Black Mage, Giant, Tamer, Valkyrie, Wizard, Sorceress, Dark Blade, and Mystic are playable.
All players start with equally poor equipment and must gather better gear, as well as special items, potions, and traps. You gain new talents by defeating monsters or opening chests. The last player standing at the end wins the game.
Since players do not play with their own equipment in the Shadow Arena, theoretically all players have a chance to win, and it only depends on the skill of the players.
Battle Royale in Black Desert
What does the Battle Royale mode bring? Depending on how high-quality your equipment is and what rank you place, you will receive rewards. The best reward goes to players who find yellow-tier equipment. They receive a whopping 400,000 silver.
If you are among the last 20 survivors, you will receive black stones. These items can be exchanged for black stones, concentrated magical black stones, or memory fragments.
How do I play the Battle Royale mode? To do this, you open your game menu in Black Desert with the ESC key and navigate to the “Marnie’s Secret Island” menu item. Click on it, and you will be asked if you want to enter the Shadow Arena. Your character must have completed the tutorial for the mode.
The Shadow Arena opens its gates only at specific times. During the week from 4 PM to 1 AM for nine hours and on weekends for 14 hours from 11 AM to 1 AM. You can also try the game mode with the 7-day trial version of Black Desert.
In addition to the Shadow Arena, more features are announced for 2019. What to expect in 2019 in Black Desert, the most beautiful MMORPG in the world.
